Confederate Flag License Plate Creates Civil War at a Delaware Agency
By David Madden
DOVER, Del. (CBS) -- An employee in Delaware's transportation department is being threatened with a one-day suspension because his personal truck sports a Confederate flag license plate on the front bumper.
It's an issue that has caught the attention of the ACLU.
Tom Drummond has already received a written reprimand, and his union has taken the threatened suspension to grievance.
He says he has worked for DelDOT for three years and no one complained about his truck in the employee parking lot, or the plate, until recently.
Richard Morse, legal director for Delaware's ACLU, has written DelDOT suggesting they back off.
"Flag symbols are protected speech," Morse tells KYW Newsradio. "The Constitution allows someone have a Confederate flag license plate on his personal vehicle, and you don't lose that right if you work for the state."
DelDOT, in an e-mail, says a fellow worker viewed the plate as "a form of harassment" and the agency acted on that premise alone.
They're reviewing the ACLU's letter before going further.
